1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an air conditioner and method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to an air conditioner and method for manufacturing the same, in which the structures of its condensate water tray, its evaporator cover and its condensate water drainage (which are located around its evaporator) are improved.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a general window mount type air conditioner, an indoor air inlet section 2 and an indoor air outlet section 3 are formed on the front of a conditioner body 1 to suck and exhaust indoor air, while an outdoor air inlet section 4 and an outdoor air outlet section (not shown) are formed on the rear of the conditioner body 1 to suck and exhaust outdoor air. An evaporator 5 for cooling the indoor air and an evaporator fan 6 for forcibly sending the indoor air cooled in the evaporator 5 toward the indoor air outlet section 3 are situated in the conditioner body 1 so as to be inwardly spaced apart from the indoor air inlet section 2.
A duct 7 is positioned around the evaporator fan 6, and forms an air passage to guide the indoor air sent by the evaporator fan 6 toward the indoor air outlet section 3. A rear evaporator cover 8 and an upper evaporator cover 9 are mounted behind and over the evaporator 5, respectively, so as to define an evaporator room and an air exhaust passage. An opening 8a is formed through the rear evaporator cover 8 to allow indoor air having exchanged heat with the evaporator 5 to flow toward the evaporator fan 6. A condensate water tray 10 is disposed under the evaporator 5 to collect and discharge condensate water formed on the surface of the evaporator 5.
In order to collect condensate water on the center portion of the condensate water tray 10, an edge projection 10a is formed on the condensate water tray 10 and the floor of the condensate water tray 10 is inclined toward its center. A discharge cutout 10b is formed on the rear center portion of the edge projection 10a to discharge the condensate water to the outside.
The condensate water tray 10 is formed of Styrofoam of an insulating material to prevent dew from being formed on the indoor side of a base plate 11. An adhesive sealing member (not shown) is attached to the lower surface of the condensate water tray 10 to prevent condensate water discharged through the discharge cutout 10b from infiltrating into the space between the condensate water tray 10 and the base plate 11. The reason for this is to prevent dew from being formed on the exterior surface of the indoor side of the base plate 11 by cold condensate water.
In the assembly of the general air conditioner, the rear evaporator cover 8 is secured to the evaporator 5 by means of screws, the condensate water tray 10 is attached to the base plate 11, the evaporator 5 is placed on the condensate water tray 10, and the upper evaporator cover 9 is secured to the top of the evaporator 5 by means of screws.
For the conventional air conditioner, the condensate water tray 10, the rear evaporator cover 8 and the upper evaporator cover 9 are separately fabricated. Accordingly, the manufacture of those parts is inconvenient and costly, and the assembly of those parts is difficult owing to the connection of the parts using screws.
In addition, in the conventional air conditioner, the condensate water tray 10 is made of Styrofoam. Accordingly, the strength of the condensate water tray 10 is relatively small, so the condensate water tray 10 may be easily damaged during assembly. Additionally, when the condensate water tray 10 has been used for a long time, the adhesive force of the sealing member attached to the lower surface of the base plate 11 is weakened, thereby causing cold condensate water to infiltrate into the space between the condensate water tray 10 and the base plate 11. As a result, there occurs a problem in which dew may be formed on the exterior surface of the indoor side of the base plate 11.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and method for manufacturing the same, in which its condensate water tray and its rear and upper evaporator covers are integrated into a single body, thereby facilitating the manufacture and assembly of the air conditioner and reducing the manufacturing costs of the air conditioner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and method for manufacturing the same, which is capable of protecting its condensate water tray from damage by increasing its strength and preventing dew from being formed on the exterior surface of the indoor side of the base plate by blocking the infiltration of condensate water into the space between the condensate water tray and the base plate.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an air conditioner, comprising a condensate water tray attached to the bottom of an evaporator, a rear evaporator cover situated between the evaporator and an evaporator fan, and an upper evaporator cover situated over the top of the evaporator, wherein the condensate water tray and the rear and upper evaporator covers are integrated into a single body.
The condensate water tray and the rear and upper evaporator covers are fabricated through an injection molding process, and the condensate water tray and the upper evaporator cover are bendably connected to the rear evaporator cover.
The air conditioner further comprises a bending groove, the bending groove having a predetermined depth and being formed on a portion where the condensate water tray is connected to the rear evaporator cover.
The air conditioner further comprises one or more connecting members connecting the upper and rear evaporator covers that are spaced apart from each other, and one or more bending grooves each having a predetermined depth and being formed on the connecting members.
The air conditioner further comprises a holding channel that is formed on the upper end portion of the rear evaporator cover to receive and hold the rear end portion of the upper evaporator cover.
The air conditioner further comprises a duct positioned around an evaporator fan, the duct forming an air passage to guide indoor air and being provided with a condensate water guide hole at its lower portion, wherein the condensate water tray is provided with a channel member rearwardly extending from the discharge cutout thereof, the channel member being inserted into the condensate water guide hole of the duct.
In addition, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an air conditioner, comprising the steps of attaching a rear evaporator cover and a condensate water tray to a conditioner body while bending the rear evaporator cover and the condensate water tray at the connecting portion thereof, inserting the channel member of the rear evaporator cover into the condensate water guide hole of a duct, placing the evaporator on the upper surface of the condensate water tray, and covering the top of the evaporator with an upper evaporator cover bent and integrally connected to the upper portion of the rear evaporator cover.